Strikes: Rally in Ipswich as teachers in Suffolk walk out

Teachers have been rallying in Ipswich town centre

A rally has taken place in the centre of Ipswich as teachers walk out in a row over pay and funding.

It is the first of seven days of industrial action organised by the National Education Union (NEU) following a vote by members.

Nathan Hope, the union's West Suffolk district secretary, said without teachers and resources "our schools are not going to be successful".

The government has said "inflation-busting pay rises" were not realistic.

Suffolk County Council said individual schools would be making their own arrangements if they had staff taking part in the action.

The union said it expected about 4,000 of its members across the county to walk out.

'Chronic underfunding'

Mr Hope, who is a teacher in Bury St Edmunds, said: "Everyone who teaches came into teaching to help children, to make sure we safeguard our society and give our children amazing opportunities in the future.

"I think at the moment it's clear that's not what's happening. We've got chronic underfunding in schools and teachers are demanding a fully funded pay rise."

He added: "It's a shame we're out on strike, we don't want to be, but this is where we are and we need this to be heard by central government."

The industrial action has been organised by the National Education Union (NEU) following a vote by members

At St Edmund's Catholic Primary School in Bury St Edmunds, just four out of 14 classes remain open, along with its special educational needs unit.

Only three out of seven classes are open at its sister school, St Joseph's.

Maria Kemble, head teacher at St Edmund's, said: "The last three or four years, budgets have become increasingly underfunded and every day we are making really difficult decisions about whether we buy resources, can we afford staff, and that has a huge impact on their workload."

However, Ipswich dad Philip Sutton, a parent of 11-year-old twins, raised concerns about the strike action.

"I'm worried about my kids. They've already suffered so much due to the Covid situation and now more days," he said.

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The government's Education Secretary Ms Keegan told BBC Breakfast: "Inflation is there, it's a spike, it's obviously affecting everybody in the country, we understand that, but the most important thing for us to do as a government is to get inflation down so that everybody feels better off.

"We cannot risk fuelling inflation with inflation-busting pay rises."

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that spending was currently not above what it was in 2010, in real terms, but that it would be once the promised £2bn for schools in England came into effect.

She said since the Conservatives took power "the standards of schools have gone up".

"It's having a massive impact and our teachers are delivering that," she added.

It was expected to be the largest day of industrial action in a decade with civil servants, train and bus drivers and university lecturers also striking.